After a brief, tense march through the ruined streets of Chernobog, the rescue team successfully breached their destination.
Deep inside the bowels of an abandoned research facility, surrounded by dormant machinery and thick layers of dust, rested the Sarcophagus.
Inside lay the Doctor.
“Mhm, input this sequence, and then adjust that valve…
it should be fine.” Amiya’s fingers danced across the ancient console, carefully following the exact instructions Kal’tsit had drilled into her.
Dobermann immediately fanned her squad out, securing the perimeter and covering the facility’s blind spots.
That left only Kai and M3 standing by the central platform to keep Amiya company.
“Amiya, hey, Amiya.” Kai stepped up to the edge of the platform and struck a very specific, highly dramatic pose.
He leaned forward slightly, extending his right hand out as if reaching through a screen.
“After you pop this giant freezer open, stand exactly like this and reach your hand in.” Amiya paused her typing, blinking at him in utter bewilderment.
“Eh?
Why?” Since the Sarcophagus still needed a few minutes to cycle through its depressurization sequence, the three of them had nothing to do but wait.
“It’ll give the Doctor a fantastic first impression.
Trust me,” Kai said, his tone brimming with absolute confidence.
It was, after all, a world-famous composition.
“I…
I see…” Amiya nodded slowly, though she still looked completely lost.
Beside them, M3 tilted her head, feeling a strange, lingering sense of déjà vu looking at Kai’s posture.
Time ticked by in the dim, quiet chamber.
Amidst the heavy anticipation, the massive life-support apparatus finally let out a crisp ding, followed instantly by the sharp hiss of venting pressure.
The heavy metallic seals along the lid began to unlatch with a heavy clunk.
“Is it supposed to sound like that?” Kai stared at the ancient machine.
“That was the exact sound of a microwave finishing a meal.” “Dr.
Kal’tsit didn’t mention that part…
but it should be normal?” Amiya sounded a bit uncertain, but she quickly hurried up the steps to the platform anyway.
M3 and Kai trailed right behind her.
“Mhm, the pressure gauges look stable.
There shouldn’t be any problems.” Amiya stepped back from the console and looked at her companion.
“M3, I’ll leave the heavy lifting to you.” M3 gave a cheerful grunt.
Stepping up to the Sarcophagus, she didn’t bother looking for a manual release.
Massive, jagged black claws materialized around her slender human arms, gripping the heavy metal lid and prying it open with a terrifying screech of protesting steel.
As the thick cryogenic mist poured over the edges and dissipated across the floor, the familiar, mysterious hooded figure was finally revealed.
“Doctor?” Amiya called out softly, her voice trembling with restrained emotion.
She watched the gloved hand of the person inside twitch slightly.
Without hesitation, she reached out and gently took that hand in both of hers.
“Doctor, please wake up.” “Where…
where am I?” A raspy, exhausted voice echoed from the depths of the hood.
Seeing that the target was finally awake, Kai tactfully grabbed M3 by the collar and dragged her down the steps, giving Amiya the space to talk to him slowly.
“What gives?” M3 protested, trying to pry Kai’s fingers off her clothes.
“I want to talk to the Doctor too!
I know him!” “Let them have their moment first,” Kai scolded mildly, tapping her on the forehead.
“Besides, didn’t I warn you the Doctor would wake up with amnesia?
Since you’re parading around in this human form now, don’t add to the poor guy’s brain damage by confusing him further.” “Oh.
Alright, then I’ll just go bother him later.” M3 rubbed her forehead, looking slightly regretful.
Then, her eyes lit up with curiosity.
“By the way, Kai, how do you know so much?
When you were talking to Kal’tsit earlier, I didn’t understand half of it, hehe.” Kai raised an eyebrow.
“How could you not?
Logically speaking, don’t you and Kal’tsit share a hive mind for that sort of thing?” “It used to be like that,” M3 admitted, crossing her arms.
“But after I turned into a human, Kal’tsit discussed it with me and temporarily severed that mental link.
I don’t really know why, but Kal’tsit said it would be good for my development.
She would never lie to me.” “I see.
But you should still retain all the memories from before the connection was cut, right?” “Of course!
Which means I have a massive stockpile of Kal’tsit’s unknown little secrets locked up right here.” M3 tapped her temple, flashing a mischievous grin.
“Do you want to know?” Kai’s eyes widened.
A treasure trove of Kal’tsit’s embarrassing secrets?
Naturally, he wanted to know!
Before he could agree, footsteps echoed from the platform.
Amiya and the Doctor walked down the steps together.
While Amiya looked visibly relieved that he was awake, her brow was pinched with worry.
Just as Kai had predicted, a brief conversation was all it took to confirm the total memory wipe.
“Mr.
Kai,” Amiya began, her long rabbit ears drooping slightly.
“I’ve already explained our current situation to the Doctor.
Just as you warned us…
he has lost his memories.” Kai didn’t offer Amiya any immediate comfort.
Instead, he completely ignored her, stepping right into the Doctor’s personal space.
He circled the hooded man twice, scrutinizing him from every angle, before leaning in close to whisper directly into his ear.
“Five Years of Gaokao?” The Doctor just stared at him, utterly blank.
He looked like a fool trying to comprehend an alien language.
Kai stroked his chin, thought for a second, and tentatively threw out another test phrase.
“Bilibili?” This time, the Doctor actually reacted.
He shrank back slightly, his raspy voice laced with genuine concern.
“Is this…
some kind of occult ritual?” Well, that settled it.
He wasn’t a fellow transmigrator.
Kai admitted to himself that he was a little disappointed not to find a fellow countryman from Earth, but it didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.
“Mr.
Kai?
What exactly are you doing?” Amiya stood nearby, completely baffled by the bizarre interrogation.
“Oh, nothing.
Just running a quick diagnostic test,” Kai replied smoothly, waving it off.
“Anyway, we’ve secured the VIP.
Shouldn’t we be moving out?” “Yes.
According to the operation plan, we need to rendezvous with Ms.
Nearl and the vanguard squad next, and then escort the Doctor out of Chernobog immediately,” Amiya confirmed, her professional demeanor returning.
Kai glanced back up at the open Sarcophagus, his eyes lingering on the ancient machinery.
A bold idea sparked in his mind.
“Is this Sarcophagus still functional?” “Eh?
I’m not sure.
Dr.
Kal’tsit didn’t mention anything about retrieving it.
Do you have an idea, Mr.
Kai?” Seeing that Amiya didn’t know the technical specs, Kai turned his attention to the resident expert.
“M3, what do you think?” M3 stared at the massive pod, her eyes narrowing as she analyzed it.
“Mhm…
logically, it should be possible to move it.
But the Sarcophagus itself is just the core.
The surrounding equipment integrated into the floor makes up the whole system.” Kai waved his hand dismissively.
“The core alone is fine.
Rip it out and carry it.
I’ll leave the heavy lifting to you, M3.” “Huh?
Eh?!” Amiya’s eyes widened in shock.
“Why are we carrying that away, Mr.
Kai?
This absolutely isn’t in the operation plan!” “I can’t explain the details right now, but my gut tells me this thing will definitely come in handy later,” Kai said, offering no further elaboration.
“But doing this might severely delay our extraction!
What if the Reunion forces catch up while we’re weighed down…” Before Amiya could finish her frantic protest, Kai cut her off.
“If it slows us down too much, we’ll just dump it in an alley.
There’s more than one of these things lying around the world anyway.
Don’t sweat the small stuff, Amiya.” “Well…
alright.” Seeing his relaxed attitude, Amiya swallowed her remaining objections.
Taking that as her cue, M3 marched back up the steps.
With a terrifying display of brute force, her arms shifted back into those massive black crystalline claws.
She dug into the metal plating, severed the thick power cables with a shower of sparks, and violently dismantled the Sarcophagus core from its housing.
“Can you actually carry that?” Kai asked, a drop of sweat forming on his brow as he watched M3 hoist the multi-ton metallic coffin onto her back.
Her cute, petite human appearance made the sheer physical strength on display incredibly jarring.
“Mhm, it’s actually quite light.
No problem at all,” M3 chirped, adjusting the massive metal block effortlessly.
At that moment, the heavy doors to the chamber swung open, and Dobermann marched in with the perimeter team.
Her sharp eyes immediately locked onto the heavily wrapped figure standing next to Amiya.
“It seems you are the Doctor,” Dobermann said, her posture rigid and professional.
“I am Instructor Dobermann, one of the field commanders for this operation.
Welcome back, Doctor.” The Doctor remained silent, still overwhelmed by his surroundings.
Dobermann didn’t seem offended by the lack of response.
She simply turned her gaze to Amiya.
“It seems the Doctor really is suffering from amnesia?” Amiya nodded grimly.
“Yes.
The Doctor has lost almost all of his memories.
It might be a severe side effect of prolonged stasis in the Sarcophagus.” “I see.
Then what in Terra’s name is this?” Dobermann pointed a stiff finger at M3, who was casually balancing a giant, sparking piece of ancient medical equipment on her back.
“Uh…
this was requested by Mr.
Kai,” Amiya stammered, offering an apologetic smile.
“He said it would be highly useful later.” Seeing Amiya’s reluctance to explain further, Dobermann didn’t press the issue.
She was a soldier, and time was a luxury they didn’t have.
“As long as it doesn’t compromise our combat efficiency.
Now, we proceed according to the original extraction plan.
Our scouts have already spotted the Reunion Movement’s vanguard pushing into this sector.
Doctor, can you keep up with a forced march?” The Doctor stood stunned for a second, processing the sudden urgency, before giving a firm nod.
“Don’t worry, we’ll keep a close eye on him,” Kai said, casually slinging an arm over the Doctor’s shoulder like they were old drinking buddies.
Dobermann turned on her heel, signaling her squad.
“Alright then.
No more delays.
Prepare to move out.” [Rhodes’s Note: “Five Years of Gaokao” refers to “Five Years of Gaokao, Three Years of Mock Exams”, an infamous and universally dreaded series of prep books used by Chinese high school students for the national college entrance examination.
“Bilibili” is a massive Chinese video-sharing platform, heavily associated with anime, gaming, and internet culture.] [Rhodes’s Note: Enjoying the operation so far, Doctor?
(This daily grind literally pays the landship’s rent!
to use the links!)